


splash the water

by cherrychoke



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Fantasy, Fluff, Junmyeon's Birthday Week 2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrychoke/pseuds/cherrychoke
Summary: knowing the tongues of ocean creatures isn't as interesting as it sounds.
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 36
Collections: Challenge #2 — Merfolk





	splash the water

**Author's Note:**

> since it's a reincarnation au, there's mentions of deaths of the character! altho it's not anything graphic or severe, pls be careful!
> 
> a huge thank you to U for being my beta <3 i hope you enjoy this~

It’s not fun being the son of the God of Oceans. Those humongous water bodies which pique human interest so much hold nothing but petty creatures. The deeper they live, the pettier they are. Their families are interconnected with so much drama, Junmyeon likes the humans’ dramas a lot better. He’s fluent in all of the creatures’ tongues. His mother told him that’s a gift, a boon from other Gods who didn’t want his father embarrassed like a couple of kids have been.

But with the lovely gift came a disaster of a job. He cleans up the oceans with no end, cleans up the beaches after the humans. Technically, he’s a human too, because he will grow old — and when the age of cracking bones comes to him, he’ll drown himself in the ocean, be reborn again in a different place where the ocean needs cleaning. He still has the memories of his previous lives, but all his friends die and don’t take another birth with memories. His sole constant ‘friends’ are turtles and merfolk to some extent.

Junmyon’s fate goes in circles until the ocean is spotless, but the humans make it difficult for him. He doesn’t particularly hate them, they’re just messy creatures in his eyes. And extremely clumsy, stupidly risk-loving. Junmyeon hates saving them from drowning more than he hates cleaning up after them.

Today, he’s talking to a small crab family after he’s done cleaning one-fourth of the beach.

“No way!” Junmyeon gasps. Crabs are the most dramatic creatures ever, and this crab is proving his point. How can that uncle walk away from his son? “I agree, that’s excessive.”

The crab sighs and gestures it’s kids. Junmyeon nods. “I’ll talk to you later. I hope your uncle understands his son better.”

The crab thanks him and walks away into their little holes with its little kids.

“Hey, pirate.”

Junmyeon scoffs, rolls his eyes. Merfolk are never forgiving towards the humans (and him, indirectly) for trying to capture them and their pretty scales, aren’t they?

His attitude quickly dissolves when he notices who it is. It’s Minseok, the merperson he kind of fell in love with in his past life and still hasn’t managed to confess. Human ages and mer-ages are pretty confusing, because of how time ticks by deep in the ocean. Minseok is either two years younger than him or four years older in this life, Junmyeon doesn’t have any idea.

“Hi,” Junmyeon rushes to the shore, discards his shorts when Minseok points farther from the ocean, and he runs behind the merperson. 

When Junmyeon is immersed in the ocean water up to his chest, his legs constantly moving to keep him afloat, he’s holding Minseok’s hand for extra support. The scales on Minseok’s hands, arms, and his face all shine under the high sun.

The membrane between Minseok’s fingers is thinner than a normal merperson’s, the medic told his family that it’s probably a genetic disease, and that he shouldn’t swim in the deep whirlpools. That’s kind of sad considering how much fun merkids seem to have.

“I need your help, pirate,” Minseok brings a crystal from his small pocket. It’s just a big scale which covers things behind it, and Minseok used a fishnet to make sure things don’t fall out from behind it. “We’re playing Catch, and I want you to hide this in your house for a few hours.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Junmyeon takes the crystal anyway, holds it tightly in his hands so he doesn’t drop it on his way back. “Tao will be very upset with you.”

“He’s a child,” Minseok rolls his eyes. His lips tug into an evil smirk. “That child needs to learn to use his little brain.”

It makes Junmyeon laugh.

“You’re not a bad human,” Minseok says abruptly.

Junmyeon chokes on his spit, eyes going wide as he stares at the merperson. “You called me a pirate a few moments ago.”

“I did,” Minseok bobs his head, a grin on his face. “You’re not a bad human, but you were a pirate, who captured me and my brothers.”

Junmyeon frowns. Those words sting more than they should. “I was trying to survive in my past life. I’ve apologized to you and your family a thousand times by now.”

Minseok shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want your apology, I told you I’ve forgiven you.”

“Then what is this about?”

“About what you told the captain before you let us go,” The sun is starting to set, the sky above them is becoming orange and pinkish. Junmyeon can’t take his eyes off Minseok’s scales, which glisten with various colours. “You didn’t have to get yourself killed for us.”

Junmyeon’s neck feels hot. He stares at Minseok’s chest scales. “That was the safest for all of us.”

“They killed you,” Minseok chuckles. He lets go of Junmyeon’s hand and splashes water at him with his gorgeous coral blue tail. “That’s not safe, pirate.”

“Worth it,” Junmyeon mumbles under his breath.

“I’d like to know your name, pirate,” Minseok swims close to him, their faces inches away. Minseok is wearing such a teasing grin, Junmyeon can’t help but splash water at him. It only makes the merperson laugh, though. “What?”

“I know what that implies,” Junmyeon mutters, stealing a glance of Minseok. Yup, he’s still smiling like all of this amuses him. Junmyeon is immersed in cool water but his body feels like it’s set on fire. “Merpeople ask names only if they want to court them.”

“Yes, and?”


End file.
